


When It's All Over

by Aeruthin



Series: Original Family Short Stories [7]
Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: (also Cami lives but that's not really important to the story), AU after the beginning of s4, Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Trauma, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25093408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeruthin/pseuds/Aeruthin
Summary: The Mikaelsons are safe and finally freed from Freya's spell.With the only threat being the enhanced venom, Hayley has nothing to fear, even when Elijah gets hurt during a simple rescue mission.So why can't she stop shaking?
Relationships: Hayley Marshall/Elijah Mikaelson
Series: Original Family Short Stories [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1475669
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	When It's All Over

Elijah's muscles ripple beneath her hand as Hayley puts pressure on the pliers. He winches, clenching his jaw.

"Almost got it," Hayley grunts. The blood makes the tool slippery and she curses softly as she tries to grab the wooden bullet locked behind Elijah's ribs. It doesn't help that her hands are shaking, either.

A few days ago, she had been called by Todd, the owner of the bar where Kayla McInnis worked, the werewolf girl Hayley used to babysit. Kayla had failed to show up for her shift, and her caravan had been empty. Hayley had offered to help with the search, and Elijah had tagged along.

The caravan had shown signs of struggle, and they finally found Kayla in an abandoned barn, with two vampires guarding her. They had attached the venom draining muzzle to her face, and used the collected venom to coat wooden bullets. Four of those bullets had lodged themselves into Elijah's chest when they had opened fire. 

She has managed to grab the first three with relative ease, but the final one is currently evading her grasp.

She huffs, and blows her hair away from her face. The restroom of the motel room they had rented for the night is small and warm, and she has to bend forward awkwardly to reach Elijah's chest. He is leaning against the edge of the bathtub, his hands clenched on the white stone. 

Finally, the last bullet locks between the jaws of the pliers. With a last twist, she pulls it out.

"There," she says, eyeing the offending piece of wood. She drops it in the bowl with the others and stands. 

"Thank you," Elijah says, his voice slightly raspy. The wounds are red and angry, and twisting the head of the pliers inside of them had not helped. Honestly, it would have been easier if Elijah had been unconscious during the makeshift surgery, but the restroom is too small for him to lie on the ground and give her sufficient access, and they had both agreed that they would like to keep the bed clean.

"You're still an idiot," Hayley huffs. Her hands are covered in blood, and she futilely tries to move her hair out of her eyes with her palm.

Elijah hums, and tugs the stray strand behind her ear. She glares at him, and drops the pliers in the sink before turning on the water and rinsing her hands. She can see Elijah in the mirror, still seated, his eyes half closed. 

They had dropped of the terrified Kayla at Todd's place, before driving to the motel. The venom would kick in before they made it back home, and she did not want to be stuck in a car with a hallucinating Original vampire at night.

Hayley grabs a clean towel and drenches it with warm water. Elijah blinks his eyes open when she presses it against his chest and carefully starts to clean of the blood. His gaze is bright and slightly unfocused, and she can feel the heat radiating of his skin even through the towel.

He watches her as she methodologically runs the towel across his skin, but she ignores him. The cloth turns red beneath her hands, soaking up the blood, and she swallows. Unconsciously, she increases her pace, rubbing at the blood more forcefully. Elijah's breath hitches when she gets too close to one of the wounds, and startled, she pulls her hand away. 

Gently, Elijah grabs her wrist. 

"Hayley..." 

She refuses to look at him, anger and frustration boiling inside her. She clenches the towel in her free hand to keep it from shaking.

"There was another way," she says sharply.

He shakes his head. 

"Not in time."

"Then in should have been me."

"The girl trusted you. You had a better chance of getting her away."

Hayley pulls her wrist out of his grasp. She tosses the towel in the sink and steps into the bedroom. It is a carbon copy of every other motel room, and the familiarity of it is sickening.

Hayley starts pacing, her arms circled around her waist, trying to keep her breath steady, trying to force down the panic rising in her throat. She had spend many nights in a room just like this, crying herself to sleep when finding a cure had seemed impossible, feeling that she was failing her daughter and all others who were counting on her. 

But it was over now. Her family is safe. She has no reason to be upset. So why can't she stop shaking?

A hand rests on her lower back and trails up her shoulders, and she clenches her jaw before turning around. Before she can say anything, tell Elijah that she is fine, think up some excuse, he places his hand on her cheek. 

"Talk to me," he whispers, his dark eyes filled with concern.

She takes in a deep shuddering breath, and all of her composure falls away. Tears well up in her eyes and spill over, and he pulls her close, his arms circling around her carefully. She rests her head against his uninjured shoulder, and breathes in his scent.

It is discernibly his, but with a tang of the illness festering in his wounds. That, too, is familiar. A similar scent had greeted her each time she had opened his coffin, radiating from the wound on his arm, subdued but not healed. 

Automatically, her mind flashes further back, when he had just been bitten. She had held him close as they had both waited for Klaus to survive the trial and for Freya to complete the spell, while Elijah's mind slipped further and further away as the venom took hold of him. 

Elijah sways in her arms, and with a start, Hayley pulls away, keeping her hands on his shoulders to keep him upright. Elijah's breathing is shallow, and his skin has grown pale.

Hayley's eyes widen in realisation. "Did I show you that?" she whispers. "Elijah, I'm..."

She can't finish her sentence. His knees buckle, and she has to guide him down as he sinks to the floor. Carefully, she rests his head against her shoulder. 

"Elijah?" she asks, her voice far more fearful then she would like.

To her relief, he blinks his eyes open. They flicker over the dirty walls and the small bed before resting on her, still slightly unfocused.

"Hayley?" he whispers.

"You're with me again?"

He nods and tries to push himself upright, but instead starts coughing fiercely. Hayley holds him close until it stops, gently rubbing his back.

"Let's get you on the bed," she says. 

When Elijah has settled, Hayley sits down on the mattress next to him. 

"Once again you're taking care of a vampire with a temperature," Elijah rasps, but with a small smile on his face.

Hayley shakes her head, but can't help the corners of her lips turning up at the memory of those days in the bayou. 

"Any other vengeful exes I should know about?" she says teasingly, trying to lighten her own mood.

Elijah's smile widens before his expression turns serious. He intertwines his fingers with hers.

"I am going to be fine, Hayley," he says. 

Hayley's throat tightens, and instead of answering, she pulls his hand to her lips, placing a soft kiss on his knuckles.

"I love you," she whispers very quietly, even for their supernatural ears. 

"And I you," he whispers back, his voice slightly slurred.

She sits with him until he drifts off to sleep, and then goes outside to find some food. 

Their lives are still full of peril. Their power and status would always attract enemies, and Hope's nature as a tribrid makes her a target even without her Mikaelson name. For now, though, Elijah is back at her side, and Hope is safe with Klaus and Cami, who would do anything to protect her. 

It was what Hayley has fought for, and would continue to fight for.

Always and forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Come talk to me on [tumblr](https://aeruthien.tumblr.com/) if you want :)


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